Making all of the facts clear

John Myers Councilman, District 4

Published: Friday, April 1, 2005 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 11:00 p.m.

Dear Editor: In the Tuesday, March 29 edition of the Tuscaloosa News, Ms. Lydia Seabol ran a story about the Northport City Council meeting that was held on March 28. In the article she quoted me as saying "Two councilmen are currently holding the city at bay". This was not said. I may have said two councilmen have held the city at bay at some point, but that isn't the case now. In fact, under the 4-1 vote rule, any two councilmen at any time could hold up the termination of an employee, no matter the reason. This is not currently happening in Northport. At no time did I ever mention anyone's name.

I called Ms. Seabol on March 29th and informed her of the error. Again, I never mentioned any names. She told me that she an editorial was coming out in the March 30th edition and that this would be corrected. I talked with Ms. Seabol on March 30 and was informed that the editorial was written by Mr. Tommy Stevenson. Well, lo and behold, The Tuscaloosa News did not set the record straight and added further untruths.

I was again quoted as saying, "Two councilmen are currently holding the city at bay" which, as I stated earlier, was not true. Then they arbitrarily plugged in the names of Councilmen William Tunnell and Scott Collins.

The editorial further stated that "I clarified my statement to mean that Councilmen Tunnell and Collins could be obstructionists in the future." Again, I never named or even implied names and in fact I told her any two could do this at any time in the future even in future councils.

I believe it is time that the Tuscaloosa News starts telling the truth instead of misrepresenting the facts to sell newspapers and create sensationalism.

Because of this, my good name and character has been tarnished and my family hurt. But I suppose that doesn't matter if your goal is to make money. I believe the Tuscaloosa News owes me and my family, as well as Councilmen Tunnell and Collins, an apology.

<p>Dear Editor: In the Tuesday, March 29 edition of the Tuscaloosa News, Ms. Lydia Seabol ran a story about the Northport City Council meeting that was held on March 28. In the article she quoted me as saying "Two councilmen are currently holding the city at bay". This was not said. I may have said two councilmen have held the city at bay at some point, but that isn't the case now. In fact, under the 4-1 vote rule, any two councilmen at any time could hold up the termination of an employee, no matter the reason. This is not currently happening in Northport. At no time did I ever mention anyone's name.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>I called Ms. Seabol on March 29th and informed her of the error. Again, I never mentioned any names. She told me that she an editorial was coming out in the March 30th edition and that this would be corrected. I talked with Ms. Seabol on March 30 and was informed that the editorial was written by Mr. Tommy Stevenson. Well, lo and behold, The Tuscaloosa News did not set the record straight and added further untruths.</p><p>I was again quoted as saying, "Two councilmen are currently holding the city at bay" which, as I stated earlier, was not true. Then they arbitrarily plugged in the names of Councilmen William Tunnell and Scott Collins.</p><p>The editorial further stated that "I clarified my statement to mean that Councilmen Tunnell and Collins could be obstructionists in the future." Again, I never named or even implied names and in fact I told her any two could do this at any time in the future even in future councils.</p><p>I believe it is time that the Tuscaloosa News starts telling the truth instead of misrepresenting the facts to sell newspapers and create sensationalism.</p><p>Because of this, my good name and character has been tarnished and my family hurt. But I suppose that doesn't matter if your goal is to make money. I believe the Tuscaloosa News owes me and my family, as well as Councilmen Tunnell and Collins, an apology.</p>